The area where a small plane hit a house Friday evening is likely just outside of what is considered St. Cloud's "controlled airspace," meaning that the pilot wasn't required to be in consistent contact with air traffic controllers about his location and plans for his flight.
St. Cloud Regional Airport's controlled airspace is about 4½ to 5 miles in each direction from the center of the airport, and the location of the crash is farther away from the airport than that. Investigators will look at what communication occurred between pilot Scott Olson and air traffic controllers and between those controllers and the pilot of an Allegiant Air flight that was seen in the area of Olson's plane just before the crash.
Witnesses reported seeing the planes close to one another just before Olson's plane crashed into a house at 731 Garden Place at about 8:26 p.m. Friday.
Killed in the crash were Olson, 60, and Alexander Voigt, 16, a German foreign exchange student whose host in the United States was St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis.
Olson was a tenant of St. Cloud Regional Airport, according to Bill Towle, director of St. Cloud Regional Airport. A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that Olson's Brumwell RV-6 experimental craft departed St. Cloud Regional Airport at about 7:55 p.m. and was scheduled to return later that night.
Because Olson's flight departed from the St. Cloud airport, he had to tell air traffic controllers there what he was planning to do after takeoff, Towle said. But once he got outside controlled airspace, he wasn't required to maintain that communication, Towle said.
That doesn't mean Olson wasn't talking to those air traffic controllers. Investigators likely will review recordings of the air traffic controllers' communications to determine whether Olson knew about the proximity of the Allegiant flight and whether Allegiant's pilot knew Olson's plane was in the area.
The Allegiant flight was required to contact the control tower before it entered controlled airspace, Towle said, and that typically happens when the flight is 10-15 miles out.
"Whether they're in the airspace or not, even if they are in the vicinity, aircraft that are coming to St. Cloud typically will call from a distance, 10 or 15 miles, and they'll radio their intentions," Towle said. "They'll talk about where they're coming from, where their location is, what their altitude and speed is."
The tower can then contact all other aircraft that might be in the vicinity to ensure that each pilot is aware of that.
"They are the conduit for the aircraft operating in the area," Towle said of the air traffic controllers.
Witnesses also reported seeing an object exit the plane during its descent.
Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise said this was an empty case used for holding the pilot's headset. It was found a block from the crash site.
The NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration are jointly investigating the crash and hope to have a preliminary report available within 10 business days of the accident. It could take up to a year for a final conclusion about what caused the crash.
The plane crashed into a home owned by Jeff Hille, a teacher and baseball coach at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School.
Hille was not home at the time. His brother-in-law, Kole Heckendorf, was in the house and escaped out of a second-floor window.
Hille, Heckendorf and Hille's sister, Kristen, had been living in the home and have since been staying with family.
Hille benefit fund
BankVista has established a benefit fund for Jeff Hille, who lost his home and belongs when a plane crashed into it Friday.
Funds can be mailed to the bank — 125 Twin Rivers Court, Sartell, MN 56377 — or donated in person. To reach the bank by phone, call 320-257-1600 or 877-415-0008.